A year in, Pope Francis still faces challenges as a mover and shaker
In the year since his surprise election, the Argentine-born pontiff has caught world attention by suggesting he might ease the Catholic Church’s strict rules on divorce, birth control, female priests and same-sex unions.
- Pope Francis is helped with his mantle after it was moved by a gust of wind during the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican February 19, 2014. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)
- Pope Francis kisses the baby Jesus statue as he leads the Christmas night mass in the Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican December 24, 2013. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- Pope Francis conducts a mass at the Church of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in downtown Rome January 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)
- Pope Francis walks with his pastoral staff as he leads the Epiphany mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican January 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)
- A woman dressed as a character from the nativity scene puts a lamb around the neck of Pope Francis as he arrives to visit the Church of St Alfonso Maria dei Liguori in the outskirts of Rome January 6, 2014. Picture taken January 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- A rainbow is seen over a courtyard as Pope Francis attends a pastoral visit at the Sacro Cuore Basilica in downtown Rome January 19, 2014. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- Pope Francis blows a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter’s square in the Vatican, upon his arrival to lead the general weekly audience on February 5, 2014. (Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis walks as he leads the general audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican February 12, 2014. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- A gust of wind blows Pope Francis’s mantle as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter’s square at the Vatican February 19, 2014. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)
- Pope Francis holds the baby Jesus statue at the end of the Christmas night mass in the Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican December 24, 2013. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- Pope Francis (L) greets Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during a consistory ceremony in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican February 22, 2014. Pope Francis urged 19 freshman cardinals to shun rivalries and factions at an induction ceremony on Saturday where his scandal-plagued predecessor, pope Benedict, made a surprise appearance. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- Pope Francis, framed by a fountain, delivers his Angelus blessing from the window of the former Papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square on February 23, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis created 19 new cardinals yesterday in a ceremony in St Peter’s Basilica. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis blesses a baby dressed as the Pope as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience at the Vatican February 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- Pope Francis leaves at the end his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter’s square at the Vatican February 26, 2014. (REUTERS/Tony Gentile)
- Pope Francis is pictured during his weekly general audience on March 5, 2014 at St.Peter’s square. The pontiff today has defended the Catholic Church’s record on tackling the sexual abuse of children by priests, saying “no-one else has done more” to root out paedophilia. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis leaves after celebrating the Ash Wednesday mass at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, March 5, 2014. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- Pope Francis arrives to leads the Ash Wednesday at the Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome, March 5, 2014. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)
- Pope Francis stands during a meeting with priests of Rome during a meeting at Paul VI’s Hall at the Vatican March 6, 2014. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- Pope Francis holds a dove before his Wednesday general audience at San Peter’s square at the Vatican May 15, 2013. (REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini)
- Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, prays before an icon of Mary during a private visit to the 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in a photo released by Osservatore Romano in Rome March 14, 2013. Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility. The Pope prayed before a famed icon of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which is known as the Salus Populi Romani, or Protectress of the Roman People. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano )
- Newly elected Pope Francis I, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, leads a a mass with cardinals at the Sistine Chapel, in a picture released by Osservatore Romano at the Vatican March 14, 2013. In his first public Mass, Pope Francis urged the Catholic Church on Thursday to stick to its Gospel roots and shun modern temptations, warning that it would become just another charitable group if it forgot its true mission. (REUTERS/Osservatore Romano)
- This handout picture released by the Press office shows Pope Francis (c), Argentina’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio, leading a mass at the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on March 14, 2013 a day after his election. Pope Francis and the cardinals who made him the first Latin American leader of the Catholic Church returned to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, this time to celebrate mass together. (Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images)
- Argentinians sit in Plaza de Mayo during an overnight vigil while waiting to watch a live broadcast of the installation of Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square on March 19, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Francis was the archbishop of Buenos Aires and is the first Pope to hail from Latin America. Celebrants watched in the early morning hours as the event was broadcast at 6:00 a.m. Buenos Aires time. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the papamobile after a mass on St Peter’s square as part of the Palm Sunday celebration on March 24, 2013 at the Vatican. The Palm Sunday marks the start of the holy week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis leads the Chrismal mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 28, 2013. (REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)
- This handout picture released by the Vatican press office on March 28, 2013 shows Pope Francis (R) kissing the feet of a young offender after washing them during a mass at the church of the Casal del Marmo youth prison on the outskirts of Rome as part of Holy Thursday. Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 young offenders including two girls at a Rome prison on Thursday in an unprecedented version of an ancient Easter ritual seen as part of an effort by the new pope to bring the Catholic Church closer to the needy. (Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis attends the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion in Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 29, 2013. (REUTERS/Max Rossi)
- This handout picture released by the Vatican Press Office on March 13, 2013 shows Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio, elected Pope Francis I, appearing at the window of St Peter’s Basilica’s balcony after being elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013 at the Vatican. (AFP/Osservatore Romano)
- Pope Francis waves to the crowd on May 29, 2013 as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St Peter’s square at the Vatican. (Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis kisses a baby as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican June 19, 2013. (REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini)
- Pope Francis poses for a picture with military policemen outside the Metropolitan cathedral in Rio de Janeiro on July 25, 2013. The first Latin American and Jesuit pontiff arrived in Brazil mainly for the huge five-day Catholic gathering World Youth Day. (Stefano Rellandini/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis delivers a speech during a visit to the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, on July 25, 2013. Pope Francis urged young Brazilians not to despair in the battle against corruption Thursday as he addressed their country’s political problems in the wake of massive protests. The first Latin American and Jesuit pontiff arrived in Brazil mainly for the huge five-day Catholic gathering World Youth Day. (Nelson Almeda/AFP/Getty Images)
- Clergy gather for Pope Francis’ final mass on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, July 28, 2013. Pope Francis, in a stunningly candid assessment of the state of the Catholic Church, said on Saturday it should look in the mirror and ask why so many people are leaving the faith of their fathers. (REUTERS/Sergio Moraes)
- Pope Francis prays in Saint Peter square at the Vatican on September 7, 2013. Pope Francis has called for a global day of fasting and prayer on Saturday for peace in Syria and against any armed intervention. Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pope Francis smiles at pilgrims in Saint Peter’s square at the Vatican, during the end of his weekly general audience on November 13, 2013. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)
Off-the-cuff comments such as “who am I to judge?” about gays have contrasted with the more distant style of his predecessors John Paul and Benedict.
But while his words and public appearances have struck a chord with many Catholics, anyone hoping for a quick turnaround on those headline-grabbers is likely to be disappointed, said Boston College theologian Richard Gaillardetz.
“There is a critical mass of Catholics who want change,” said Gaillardetz, president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. “In the minds of many people, substantial change has to mean change on what I call the hot button troika – birth control, women’s ordination and same-sex marriage.
“This pope has undertaken very substantial change, but it is not necessarily going to focus on specific doctrines,” he added.
Instead, say Gaillardetz and others, Francis seeks a deeper shift in the Church to become what he calls a “field hospital” serving the needs of the faithful rather than an inward-looking institution more concerned with its own rules and procedures.
Either way, he seems be facing the religious version of what political scientists call a “revolution of rising expectations”, the moment when people think their distant leaders are listening to them and start to ratchet up their demands for change.
HUMANAE VITAE’S WARNING
Older Catholics remember when expectations of a Vatican approval for contraception soared in the 1960s, only to be dashed in 1968 when Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae surprised many churchgoers by upholding the traditional ban.
Many believers deserted the pews and priests quit the clergy. Large numbers of those who stayed began simply to ignore Vatican teaching on sex.
Francis gently pushed back last week at expectations of rapid change, telling an interviewer he was not “a kind of superman or a star” but just “a normal person”.
People walk past a street art mural showing Pope Francis as a superman, flying through the air with his white papal cloak billowing out behind him and holding a bag bearing the word “Values”, by Italian street artist Maupal in downtown Rome near the Vatican on January 29, 2014. Flying forward with his fist raised, the heroic pontiff — crucifix swinging in the wind — carries his trademark black bag, with the word “values” written across it in white. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)
“It’s not a question of changing the doctrine but going deeper so that pastoral concern takes into account situations and what can be done for people,” he added.
The international reform group We Are Church has said it is worried reforms were being held up by “strong resistance in the power structure”. It also asked Rome to rehabilitate liberal priests and theologians disciplined in recent decades.
These demands are coming to the fore now because Francis has encouraged Catholics to discuss sensitive issues more openly and even sent out an unprecedented survey to hear their views.
“He has basically reopened a debate that was shut down during the previous two pontificates,” said Italian theologian Massimo Faggioli, a historian of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council that launched reforms Francis wants to revive.
WIDE GAP
Survey results published in Europe showed how large a gap exists between Church teaching and Catholics’ lives.
“Church statements on premarital sexual relations, homosexuality, on those divorced and remarried, and on birth control … are virtually never accepted, or are expressly rejected in the vast majority of cases,” the German bishops conference said in its blunt report to the Vatican.
It said many do not understand the rule that divorced Catholics cannot remarry in church and must be denied the sacraments if they opt for a civil ceremony. Many churchgoers see this as “unjustified discrimination and … merciless.”
But it also said most Catholics upheld the ideal of lifelong faithful heterosexual marriage and opposed abortion.
A poll from the Pew Research Center in Washington last week showed Francis was “immensely popular among American Catholics” but many still differed with some Vatican teachings.
“Large majorities of Catholics say the Church should allow Catholics to use birth control (77 percent), allow priests to get married (72 percent) and ordain women as priests (68 percent),” the Pew report said.
GLOBAL CHURCH
But the concerns recorded in Washington are not universal. Roman Catholicism, by far the world’s largest Christian church, has everyone from Western professionals to African peasants among its 1.2 billion members.
“In this global church, there are different expectations in different places,” noted Faggioli, who teaches at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.
Catholics in Africa, where the Church is growing rapidly, have more traditional views about women’s roles. Many priests there are concerned that looser divorce rules would undercut their decades-long preaching against polygamy.
Homosexual sex is illegal in 37 countries in Africa and Catholic and Protestant clergy say the new acceptance of gays in Western churches makes them less credible than Muslim preachers who say their whole faith condemns homosexuality.
Gaillardetz said the big change Francis wants is to spread a new interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, which set out to turn the tightly hierarchical Church into a more horizontal structure sharing responsibility and power between Rome and national churches and between clergy and laity.
“This will ultimately have widespread consequences, but they’re not the kind that happen one year in,” he said.
OCTOBER SYNOD
Impatient critics are looking ahead to a synod of bishops in Rome in October to discuss the survey results. But it will not take any decisions, leaving that for a second synod next year.
“He’s telling bishops and priests: you can speak out and we should listen. This is a big change,” Faggioli said. “Some are ready to do that, like the Germans. But others, like the U.S. and Italy, aren’t ready yet.”
Under Popes John Paul and Benedict, synods were scripted sessions with little debate. If the bishops don’t open up this time, he said, it will be “a major blow” for Francis.
“The high expectations he has raised refocus everything that happens in the Church onto him,” the theologian said.
While many bishops still seem cautious about following Francis’s example, Faggioli said surprises could still come.
“The preparations for Vatican II from 1959 to 1962 were a huge disappointment, but when the bishops arrived in Rome, they found their voice,” he said. “Maybe when they gather for the synod, a new chemistry will start brewing.”
– Tom Heneghan, Reuters religion editor. Additional reporting By Tom Heneghan.
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